Return of the Shrew!
While watching the birds outside, I noticed some of the astilbe leaves moving. Something was under them. Before too long, a little grey nose darted out and back from the edge of the plants. Then again. I grabbed the camera and caught it on film (er, pixels) as it hesitatingly edged out of hiding.
It's a northern short-tailed shrew again, the same kind that chewed through my dryer vent last year.
I see their tunnels in the mulch and leaves when I garden, I know where the hole is under the porch where they slept last winter, and occasionally I hear a squeak outside that I think might be their voice, but I hardly ever see them. In a year and a half of living here, this is only the third time I've seen one. Since they eat mice, moles, slugs, and insects, they're welcome in my garden. Plus, they're food for that long-eared owl should it ever pay a visit. They apparently eat plants occasionally, too, but I don't know which ones.
So hail, little shrew, and welcome.